RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, legions of Oahu residents spend at least two hours daily traveling on the H-1 freeway during rush hour traffic going to and from work; and

WHEREAS, passengers in vehicles on the H-1 during rush hours could better spend their time while in their cars doing work or research on the Internet; and

WHEREAS, an outdoor wireless corridor infrastructure would support continuous coverage for wireless network services for wireless-enabled laptop computers and personal digital assistant devices (PDA), enabling access to online resources in any location along H-1; and

WHEREAS, wireless devices, from hand-held assistants like Palm Pilots, to laptop computers, to cellular phones with internet capabilities are exploding in popularity; and

WHEREAS, traditional hardwired networks, the traditional mainstay of local area networks (LAN), are fast giving way to wireless LANs that will soon become the norm; and

WHEREAS, the connectivity of a wireless corridor could be supplied by high-speed, free space optical laser technology which enables a seamless connection hand off from one wireless access point to another; and

WHEREAS, a highway advisory radio service could be implemented on a wireless H-1 corridor, with central connections for programming information to remote sites, including digital displays that could be accessed from a central location through several wired and wireless means; and

WHEREAS, the H-1 would be ideal for installation of a wireless corridor technology which would advance Honolulu in wireless connection technologies; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to conduct a study on the feasibility of installing an outdoor wireless corridor along the H-1 Freeway in order to encourage utilization by highly occupied vehicles and busses, and to facilitate the gathering of traffic metrics; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Director of Transportation.

Report Title:

H-1 Freeway; Wireless Corridor